My Meditations on Today’s Readings
(Ellipses are mine
and are used for contemplation.)
Key Words/Phrases:
When they were filled and their heart was exalted, they forgot Me; I will
ransom them from the power of the grave; Return to the LORD, your God; I will
heal their backsliding; deliver, preserve, keep me, O LORD; man’s pride will
bring him low; the Revelation of Jesus Christ
Plenty, Pride,
Self-Exaltation – Hosea 13 and 14 – (Facts:
What It Says – Summarized) Arrogance and
Self-Enthronement: “I knew you in the wilderness in the land of
great drought. When they had pasture,
they were filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted. Therefore…they forgot Me.” God’s Pronouncements: 1) Yet
I…am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God
but Me, for there is no savior besides Me. 2) O, Israel you are destroyed, but…your help is from Me. Where is any
other that he might save you? 3) Your
iniquity, your sin is stored up. 4)
I…will ransom them from the power of he grave; I…will redeem them from death.
God’s Call to His People: O,
Israel, return to the LORD your God. How Can They Do This?
1) Take words with you, and return to
the LORD. 2) Say…take away all
iniquity; receive us…graciously…for….we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. 3)
Assyria will not save us, nor will we
say anymore to the works of our hands,
‘You are our gods.' 4) For…in You…the
fatherless finds mercy. The Resulting Blessings
If They Do This: 1) I will heal
their backsliding. 2) I will love
them freely, 3) for my anger has
turned away from him. 4) I will be
like the dew to Israel; he shall grow, lengthen his roots, spread his branches,
his beauty shall be like an olive tree, his fragrance like Lebanon, those who
dwell under his shadow shall return, be revived and grow. Wisdom in Obeying
God’s Word: Who is wise? Let him…understand
these things. Who is prudent? Let
him…know them. For…the ways of the LORD
are right. The righteous…walk in them,
but transgressors...stumble in them.
Principle: One of the most powerful sermons I ever heard was
a warning of man’s history with the cycle of pride. Times of plenty are when God’s people have
left Him. In times of trouble and
affliction, we tend to draw near to Him.
In plenty, comes pride, then self-exaltation, then self as god
(narcissism), then a broken relationship with God, followed by broken
relationships with others and then destruction.
This is what happened in this account.
God gives the remedy: Repent, and
return to Him.
The Spirit of
Humility Before God When Facing the Proud – Psalm 140: 1-5 – (Facts: What It Says – Summarized)
Deliver me…preserve me…keep me from evil,
wicked, violent men who have…planned…evil things in their
hearts…continually…gather together…for war…sharpen their tongues like a
serpent…purposed…to make my steps stumble.
The proud…have hidden a snare…for me…and cords; they have…spread a
net…by the wayside; they…have set…traps for me. Principle: God has warned us to not take
vengeance ourselves but to leave that to Him. Never take your own revenge,
beloved, but leave room for the wrath of
God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the
Lord. (Romans 12:19) This is the example for the godly person
being persecuted by the proud and arrogant who seek to manipulate and destroy
others for their own pleasure or personal gain.
The ULTIMATE Result of Pride and Humility – Proverbs 29:23 – (Facts: What It Says) A
man’s pride…will…bring him low, but the humble in spirit…will…retain honor. Principle: Pride goes before destruction and a haughty
spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18) This fall of the proud and arrogant
is a common theme in the Bible. Note
that the one who is humble in spirit is rewarded by maintaining…retaining…”keeping
possession of, keeping hold of, holding on to, hanging on to…his honor…what
he already possesses…not wealth, riches, prestige, status…but honor.
Humility Before and In God’s Word – Revelation 1 – (Facts: What It Says – Summarized) The
Beginning of the Revelation: The
Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants things
which must shortly take place. 1) Blessed…is he who reads…hears…keeps…those
things written in the words of this prophecy. 2) Grace…to
you and…peace…from Him…who is…and who was…and who is to come. 3) From Jesus Christ…the faithful witness, the
firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. 4) To Him…who loved us…and washed us from our
sins in His own blood, 5) who has
made…us…kings and priests…to His God and Father, 6) to Him…be glory…and dominion…forever and ever. 7) Behold, He is coming…with clouds…and every
eye will see Him…even they who pierced Him.
8) I was in the Spirit on the
Lord’s Day…and I heard…’What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven
church which are in Asia.’ 9) And
when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.
But He…laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid; I am
the First and the Last. I am He who
lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.
And I have the keys of Hades and Death.’ Principle:
The same response is noted with the saints and sinners (Abram, Isaiah, Ezekiel,
the people, Moses and Aaron, Balaam, Joshua, David, Daniel, John, the angels
and the four beasts, the four and twenty elders) when beholding the glory of God:
they fell on their faces. In most cases this was as they were hearing Him speak. This is John’s reaction and will
be that of the angels and the four beasts and the 24 elders as the Revelation
of Jesus Christ unfolds.
My Lessons and Applications:
Pride and Arrogance resulting in sin, iniquity, attacks against the
godly, forgetting God, enthroning self as god– these were the manifestations of
evil in each of our readings today. The
power, presence, and prophecy of God and Jesus Christ reverberate as juxtapositions
of these throughout today’s readings. A
humble spirit before God is seen as repentant, returning to God, retaining
honor, obedient to His calling and revelation…to His Word. Am I listening to God or to the world? Am I so enmeshed in the routine of life, in my own ruminations, that I am unable to hear God? When I begin to stray, to allow pride to
creep in to my life, to backslide, am I able to humbly return to God, to ask
for His forgiveness, to ask Him to “take away all my iniquity?” Is He the Lord of my life, or am I claiming lordship
over my own soul and life? How will the
re-reading and meditation of The Revelation affect me?
And
when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.
(Revelation 1:17)
It may be that like the apostle John you know Jesus Christ
intimately, when suddenly He appears with no familiar characteristic at all,
and the only thing you can do is to fall at His feet as dead. There are times when God cannot reveal
Himself in any other way than in His majesty, and it is the awfulness of the
vision which brings you to the delight of despair; if you are ever raised up it
must be by the Hand of God. In the midst
of the awfulness, a touch comes, and you know it is the right hand of Jesus
Christ…and the sense that “underneath are the everlasting arms.”
Oswald
Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
No comments:
Post a Comment